Star Drawn Saga (Book 2): Lost Among The Dead by Stephen Charlick Page A

inspection, she was proven wrong. Even after all this time there was always one more nightmare to be played out, one more horror that lurked unseen and unacknowledged until evidence of its passing was standing before her; torn, brutalized and hungry for her flesh.
    ‘Let’s just get out of here,’ she whispered, looking away from the Dead woman’s shuffling corpse.
    ‘No argument here,’ mumbled Tom, giving the woman’s cadaver one last glance before returning his attention back to the road ahead of them and the half a dozen other hungry corpses milling in their path. ‘Let’s g…’
    And then Tom suddenly paused, somehow transfixed by the tortuous movements of a Dead child he had spotted on the opposite side of the street, its chest cavity nothing more than a dark gaping hole. Then, with a slight shake of his head, he mumbled something more. But whatever he said it was not meant for Fran or Kai to hear. His words were something to placate, something meant to appease and something to reassure the angry whispers that only he could hear.
    ‘Soon!’ he finally hissed, like an exasperated man at the end of his tether.
    ‘Tom,’ whispered Fran, reaching out to gently touch his shoulder.
    Yet no sooner had her fingers brushed the fabric of his jacket than his head snapped back to glare at her.
    ‘I said…’ he started to snap until he stopped himself, blinking as he shamefully realised the touch was in fact Fran’s and not the tormenting caress of less corporal spectres.
    ‘Just straight along this road and then bear left,’ whispered Fran, the neutral expression on her face hiding the worry and concern bubbling within her. ‘We should see the river in just under a mile or so.’
    ‘Bear left,’ Tom quietly repeated, sheepishly turning to look back to the road, ‘got it… left it is.’
    Fran looked at the back of Tom’s head and wondered what self-imposed torments raged within his mind. He was a man broken, she had known this from the moment they met but she had hoped that over time he may find a way to fix himself, somehow putting himself and his shattered mind back together piece by piece; unfortunately it looked as if her hopes were going to go unrealised.
    Glancing at Kai, she could see the question in his dark eyes. She could read in his expression what he wanted to say; what worries and concerns danced upon his lips, waiting to be voiced. But Fran knew now was not the time to speak them, so using the side of the rocking cart to steady herself, she let his fingers slip from hers and slowly returned to her seat on the crowded bench. Sighing as she avoided his probing gaze, she reached down and gave the dog by her feet a friendly pat.
    ‘Guess we should give you a name,’ she muttered, all the while thinking to herself. ‘ How much longer have we got left with you, Tom? ’
    ***
    Thanks to the roads being littered with the detritus of a way of life that no longer existed, the rest of their journey through Chacewater was slow, doggedly hampered by the Dead but uneventful. They soon found themselves leaving behind the once picturesque cottages, now little more than sad reminders of the fate that had befallen man. Overgrown and reclaimed by nature, the small red brick buildings with their shattered windows and broken down doors sat nestled amid gardens gone to seed. Shrubs and bushes, at one time lovingly tendered and pruned to keep them in order, now run riot; spilling over from their borders to battle with lawns choked with tall grasses, wildflowers, weeds and in some places even young determined tree saplings.
    ‘Oh, what the…’grumbled Tom, slowly pulling Star to a halt just as they were about to take their turning.
    ‘What’s up?’ asked Fran, pushing aside Bob, their newly named canine addition.
    ‘Some sort of checkpoint or something across the road,’ he replied, glancing back at Fran and Kai.
    ‘Can we get p…past it?’ asked Kai, moving over to see what was a completely useless